Boundaries and school quality: At the first of 3 meetings on the new student assignment proposals, parents from east of the Anacostia River voiced concerns about being relegated to the District’s lower-performing schools. (Post)
New middle schools?: The proposals call for 4 new middle schools and major changes in assignment patterns at that grade level, but it’s… Keep reading…

Farewell to choice sets: The revised school boundary proposals return to a system of by-right neighborhood schools, but the shrinkage of boundaries for the most desirable middle and high schools will leave some residents unhappy. (Post)
High school changes: Some schools, like Cardozo, Dunbar, and Eastern, would experience huge changes in their catchment areas under the… Keep reading…

Bowser would keep Henderson: The Democratic mayoral nominee ended her previous noncommittal stance and made it clear that, if elected, she would keep the current DCPS Chancellor. (Post)
Schools and the DC mayoral race: Politico takes a look at the prominence of education issues in the contest between DC Councilmembers Muriel Bowser and David Catania.
Westboro 10, Wilson… Keep reading…

Chancellor defends proposed budget: At a DC Council hearing, Kaya Henderson dealt with questions for 4 hours about how the school system plans to spend money allocated for at-risk youth and other matters. (Post)
Opposition to boundary change proposals, but from whom?: With few parents east of the river weighing in, some are cautioning against drawing conclusions from the reactions… Keep reading…

Truancy still a major problem in DCPS: With 32% of students missing more than 10 days of classes without a valid excuse, some schools are trying tactics like holding raffles for students who show up on time. (Post)
Private philanthropy and DC charters: The Walton Family Foundation has played a key role in the growth of charter schools in DC and elsewhere. (NY Times)
Catania… Keep reading…

Candidates on school boundary proposals: Democratic mayoral nominee Muriel Bowser opposes cutting neighborhoods east of the park out of the Deal-Wilson feeder pattern, and presumptive independent candidate David Catania would “press pause” on the whole thing until schools have been improved. (Post)
Bowser cagey on keeping Henderson: The candidate met with… Keep reading…

Changes in boundaries and feeder patterns: The committee that has been reviewing DC’s student assignment policies released three potential plans and a proposal for redrawing elementary school boundaries. To see details, click here. (Post)
Henderson’s future: Neither Democratic mayoral nominee Muriel Bowser nor her rival David Catania will commit to keeping… Keep reading…

Mayoral race and school boundary overhaul: A committee has been working for months on updating DC’s school assignment policies, but the outcome of the mayoral election could derail whatever they come up with. (Post)
Can “Deal for all” work?: In her mayoral campaign, Muriel Bowser has called for replicating the success of Deal Middle School elsewhere in… Keep reading…

Ask most of the candidates in the District’s April 1 Democratic primary about the gap between our most and least successful public schools, and they’ll tell you they want every school to be great. That’s a laudable aspiration, but at our current pace it will take more than a generation to get there. Sadly, few candidates support acting boldly to change the lives… Keep reading…

Some schools may get unexpected renovations: Mayor Vincent Gray is seeking to shift renovation funds, with the result that some schools will get additional money and others will lose funds they thought they had. (Post)
But renovations are delayed at planned DCPS special education campus: Archeologists have discovered Native American artifacts on the site of the former River… Keep reading…

The number who pass AP exams varies across the region: The number of students who take AP classes has almost doubled nationwide in the past 10 years, and the number of low-income students has almost quadrupled. Maryland led the country in the percentage of seniors who earned passing scores last year, with 30%, and Virginia was close behind at 28%. In DC, an entirely urban district, the… Keep reading…

A group of alumni and parents are proposing to turn Dunbar High School into a selective school. What’s behind this idea, and does it make sense?
Last month, the Washington Post reported that the group had spent months discussing the idea of giving Dunbar greater autonomy, including the ability to select its students, and intend to put the proposal before DCPS Chancellor… Keep reading…

If you put more advanced classes into low-performing middle and high schools, will you get students who are capable of doing more advanced work? Or will administrators be tempted to fill those classes with students who aren’t ready for them?
One thing that Councilmember David Catania and DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson agreed on at a DC Council hearing last week was that… Keep reading…

What’s in store for DCPS’s middle schools? The possibilities include greater communication with feeder elementary schools, equalizing offerings for middle-grade students at all K-8 and stand-alone middle schools, and an application-only middle school in Ward 7.
DC has long had a dearth of desirable DCPS middle schools. With a review of boundaries and feeder… Keep reading…

This week’s DC Council hearing on school boundaries and feeder patterns gave the public some clues to the kinds of changes Chancellor Kaya Henderson has in mind for DCPS middle schools as she works on a plan to improve them.
The ongoing review of how DC students are assigned to public schools has generated a lot of anxiety. With a number of low-performing elementary schools… Keep reading…

Some have criticized DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson for reported remarks that the school system should “outsource” middle schools to charters. Here’s what she really said, which happens to be something that’s well worth considering.
Middle schools have been the subject of much debate, not just in DC and not just in recent weeks. We’ll take… Keep reading…

DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson has said that this year she wants to involve the public more in the budget process. But a DCPS online survey platform confusingly highlights one person’s views, even though officials say they’ve gotten 200 responses.
In past years, school system officials have waited until the spring to announce the details of the following school… Keep reading…